Valero Texas Open Preview, TV Times

The PGA Tour is in the Lone Star State this week for the Valero Texas Open. Kevin Chappell is defending champion at TPC San Antonio against a field that includes Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Martin Kaymer.

Kevin Chappell is defending champion in the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio. Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Jimmy Walker and Adam Scott are all on the start sheet for the week.

Dating back to 1922, the Texas Open is one of the oldest tournaments on the PGA Tour, past winners including: Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino.

Last year, Kevin Chappell claimed his first PGA Tour title by birdying the final hole to beat a charging Brooks Koepka by a single shot.

Kevin Chappell is the defending champion

The Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio was designed by Greg Norman with input from Sergio Garcia. Opened for play in 2010, it’s a natural-looking layout with huge bunkers and sprawling greens. Many of the fairways are framed by stands of mature oaks giving the course its name.

It’s one of the more testing courses visited by the PGA Tour with narrow fairways skirted with bushes. Back in 2011, Kevin Na made a 16 on the par-4 9th hole. He had so many swipes at the ball in the scrub that he lost count and had to consult with playing partners and the TV to work out what to write on the card.

Sergio Garcia makes his first start after missing the cut in his defence of the U.S. Masters. It’s the first time he’s competed in this event since 2010.

The weather looks set to be unpredictable. It could be blustery and thunderstorms are likely on Friday and Saturday. Expect some delays.

Charley Hoffman – He’s on good form with four top-25 finishes in his last six starts but, more importantly, he is a real specialist at this tournament. He won in 2016 and has a tied 2nd and a tied 3rd to his name. He’s the all-time leading money winner in this event.

Matt Kuchar – The ever-consistent Kuchar is another with a good record in this event. He hasn’t missed a cut in six appearances. He has a couple of top-10s in recent outings and is overdue a return to the winner’s circle.

Beau Hossler – He’s playing well. After losing a playoff for the Houston Open, he was tied for 16th in the RBC Heritage. Could be a good bet this week.

Golf Monthly Instruction

Key hole: The par 5s. The shortest on the course is the 14th at 567 yards so, depending on the wind, any of them could play as a three-shotter. The longer hitters will have a distinct advantage on these holes.

Skills required: Finding fairways. At 7,435 yards, you’d think length was the most important factor at TPC San Antonio. But, with bunkers and huge trees lining the fairways, driving the ball straight is also essential.

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